If you have any doubts, consider this headline: "Survey Confirms What Diversity Professionals Have Long Suspected: People Think Inclusion in the Workplace Hurts White Men."

Based on the survey findings from Ernst and Young and ORC International, white men feel left out of workplace inclusion efforts, and it has slowed down progress in helping create more diverse and inclusive environments.

This is not a case of white men acting badly. Instead, this is a case of reacting like human beings.

We, humans, are incredibly social. Yes, even if you think you prefer to work alone, eat at your desk and play video games by yourself, you, along with the rest of us, are biologically wired to feel a need to belong.

Furthermore, our brain reacts intensely to social situations, especially feelings of social inclusion and exclusion. Being part of a group makes us feel better. And when we feel included, supported and respected, we perform better.

But when we feel excluded, the reverse happens. Our work performance can suffer: we can get sick, either physically, mentally or both, and our relationships with work colleagues, friends and family can suffer.

Workplace social rejection can take many forms. In addition to feeling excluded from workplace inclusion efforts, it can include being overlooked for a promotion or advancement, not being invited to participate on a team, feeling ignored or unable to share ideas at a meeting, being disinvited or excluded from a meeting, or anything else an individual interprets as hurtful.

In recent years, neuroscientists, psychologists and other researchers have become more interested in the science of social inclusion and exclusion. Through brain-imaging and other studies, they have learned that the signs and consequences of inclusion and exclusion are universal to people everywhere.

When you feel excluded, even if you’re part of the majority group, such as a white male in a corporation, you can react in some or all of these six ways:

• Experience a drop in your intelligence and reasoning skills.

• Become unwilling to cooperate and show other pro-social behavior toward colleagues, family and friends.

• Have greater challenges regulating your emotions, such as being civil when angered or provoked.

There’s more bad news too. You can feel even worse just knowing about this topic, according to Dr. Heidi Grant, senior scientist of the NeuroLeadership Institute.

That’s because education, including all the diversity and inclusion workshops that organizations sponsor, highlights the issues. And if you think you may be part of an out-group, you can become more anxious and threatened by your status. In a sense, that’s what’s happening with the white men who participated in the survey and others who feel a sense of exclusion. It's why some workshops on diversity and inclusion have a tough time changing behavior. It's an important workplace challenge that doesn’t have any easy solution.

As you’re probably figuring out, based on the way our brain is built, it’s easier to make people feel excluded than included. In fact, as Dr. Grant stated in a NeuoLeadership Institute webinar I participated in: “If you’re not actively including, chances are you’re accidentally excluding.”

So what can leaders do to show they're being inclusive?

Make an effort to acknowledge others and the value they bring, helping them feel they that they belong and are in a safe setting. This includes sharing information regularly and involving broad groups, not just the “usual suspects.”

Try to put yourself in other people’s shoes and look at things from their perspective.

Also pay attention to your words, body language and other nonverbal cues. You can unconsciously send messages that others interpret as examples of hurtful microaggression.

Yes, even with the best of intentions, you may say or do something that sounds more exclusionary than inclusionary. If you can, call yourself out first. Otherwise, deal with any backlash sooner rather than later.

Keep in mind that the road to good intentions is often paved with hell. We, humans, are a work in progress, especially when we’re trying to create a more inclusive workplace. Here’s hoping our journeys don’t inflict much pain.